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Two Ways to Live: November Gratitude Reading Plan (Day 6)

(This devotion is day six of a 30-Day Thanksgiving Challenge. Each day includes a daily reading that will be accompanied by a post on this blog.)

Read Romans 1:18–23; 12:1–2

Paul lays out two paths we can walk in: gratitude or ingratitude. They direct our steps toward God or away from Him. Gratitude is that important. Giving thanks is no cherry on top of the Christian life we toss in on rare occasions. It’s the meat and potatoes, the heart and soul of following God.

Grateful Offerings: Gratitude Reading Plan (Day 5)

(This devotion is day five of a 30-Day Thanksgiving Challenge. Each day includes a daily reading that will be accompanied by a post on this blog.)

Read 1 Chronicles 29:10–22; Leviticus 7:11–15

As a kid, one of my parents would give me money to buy the other parent a birthday gift. Even when I had an allowance or helped around the house, any money spent on cards or gifts came from my mom or dad. I had nothing to give them they didn’t provide first.

The Nine or the One?: Gratitude Reading Plan (Day 4)

(This devotion is day four of a 30-Day Thanksgiving Challenge. Each day includes a daily reading that will be accompanied by a post on this blog.)

Read Luke 17:11-19

I grew up reading the classics. No, not Dickens, Austen, or Steinbeck, but Berenstain (as in The Berenstain Bears). Since I’m forcing my toddler to relive many of my experiences, including my favorite childhood books and shows, we often watch or read The Berenstain Bears.

Worship the King with Thanksgiving: Gratitude Reading Plan (Day 3)

(This devotion is day one of a 30-Day Thanksgiving Challenge. Each day includes a daily reading that will be accompanied by a post on this blog.)

Read Psalm 100

What’s the proper reaction of creation to its Creator? If God is God, and we live and breathe in His world, provided for and blessed in countless ways, what is a fitting response? And if we were under God’s righteous judgment because of our sin against Him, and yet He graciously redeemed us at the cost of His Son, what should be our posture before Him?

Gratitude Reading Plan (Day 2): Give Thanks in Trials

(This devotion is day one of a 30-Day Thanksgiving Challenge. Each day includes a daily reading that will be accompanied by a post on this blog.)

Read Daniel 2:17-23; 6:10; Romans 8:28-29

Yesterday’s devotional focused on recognizing God as the source of blessings. We feel gratitude and we give thanks.

Blessings include gifts in our life and God’s provision, but it can also include God’s comforting presence, His ongoing work in us, His involvement in our life, ministry He’s doing through us, what He reveals in His world, and what He teaches us in His Word. “Blessings” encompasses many things. It’s broader and deeper than idyllic stock photos, Instagram hashtags, and Pinterest boards. But we often focus only on positive things with thanksgiving.

Group Discussion Guide for The Grumbler’s Guide to Giving Thanks

If you picked up a copy of The Grumbler’s Guide to Giving Thanks: Reclaiming the Gifts of A Lost Spiritual Discipline, there’s now a Discussion Guide available. Reading, discussing, and responding to books is always better when done with others than on your own.

You can download the Discussion Guide here.

Gratitude Reading Plan (Day 1): Give Thanks to God

(This devotion is day one of a 30-Day Thanksgiving Challenge. Each day includes a daily reading that will be accompanied by a post on this blog.)

Read James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 4:7; Romans 11:36; Matthew 7:9–11

Last November, I browsed dozens of children’s books related to the Thanksgiving holiday, searching for one to teach my daughter about giving thanks. Almost all of them mentioned things to be thankful for but missed the fact that thankfulness has a person on the other end.[1] These books do teach kids to spot stuff they appreciate: their dog, toys, parents, grandparents, teachers, falling leaves, good health, and pumpkin pie. Both kids and adults benefit from considering the blessings in life. But each of these books stopped short.

Bible Study Questions

We learn by listening, and good listeners ask good questions. While there’s no one-way to do Bible study, one thing we can do is ask questions as we’re reading to help us better observe, interpret, and apply the text. These questions should help us discover the meaning of the passage itself (“what did the author mean?) and move us to living it out? They should not only help us understand the Bible, but they should stir our love for God and neighbor because of what we discover in it.

Study Creation to Learn About God

“[Creation] is a speech from God to humanity… The creation, in its entirety, is eloquent; sin is the only dissonance in its song.” Herman Bavinck

“The universe … is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God” Belgic Confession

“Outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence.” Wendell Berry

The Psalms are full of references to lessons about God and life in His world that we learn from creation (nature). To be a student of creation makes us learners of the God of creation. To neglect creation is to ignore God’s revelation of Himself.

The Broken are the Useful

“Brokenness precedes usefulness.”[1]

Despite our failures, weaknesses, and weariness, despite what was done to us or what we’ve done, and despite hard seasons that feel like we’ve been put in the garage because we’re no longer useful, God uses broken people. In fact, God often walks us through a season of suffering or humility to make us usable.